Oakland police poll: stress, suicides and low morale

In this 2013 file photo, an Oakland police officer attaches a police icon to his K9′s bulletproof vest. (Dan Evans/Special to The Chronicle)

Oakland police officers are demoralized, stressed out from mandatory overtime and concerned about suicides among their co-workers, according an internal poll of some 500 sworn officers, many of whom also complained about a lack of support from police commanders, city leaders and the residents of Oakland.

The poll, which was obtained and posted online by the East Bay Express, shows that Oakland officers feel immense frustration as they try and stop crime in an understaffed department while also complying with a federal reform effort.

“The leaders in this Department have to start being leaders,” one officer wrote anonymously. “A better working environment starts from the top down. Our Executive Command staff do not treat people below them with respect or dignity. If you want to change the culture of the Department start with the leaders. We need brand new people at the top.”

A number of officers brought up the suicides of two Oakland police officers last summer. Officers said mandatory overtime shifts made the job incredibly stressful.

“Eliminate the mandatory overtime,” one officer wrote. “We are under constant serious stress on the daily basis even for our regular 40 hour shifts. In addition, we are often extended well (past) this and it is having a toll on officers’ mental well-being. It appears the city is ignoring the obvious spike in officer suicides and it is alarming that no comparison to the overwhelming work load officers have been assigned.”

Sixty-five percent of officers said they didn’t feel valued by the department for the work they do while another 55 percent don’t “feel valued by the citizens” of Oakland, according to the poll, which was posted by the Express.

Another 84 percent of cops said don’t feel valued by the city government.

One officer wrote anonymously: “(The) City and Department need to stop rolling over for whoever screams the loudest at city council meetings. This City is hamstrung by political correctness and failed liberal agendas.”

Tired, burned-out police officers complaining about lily-livered elected officials giving them questionable support is not a new phenomenon, but the survey underscores Oakland’s struggle to combat violence and crime with a depleted force while still completing a decade-long Federal reform effort.

“It is time to treat people with respect,” another anonymous officer wrote. “Daily, I see that we expect perfection, and that is not reasonable. We should do what is right by our people, not what will look good to those evaluating the department. By being fair to the people that work in this department we can rebuild the motivation and morale of a dispirited group. We should be building consent and buy in from the officers to gain cooperation. Think community policing, only with the police department.”